Adoption Network Cleveland

🟠Torn from the Root: A Memoir of a Black Transracial Adoptee with Rhonda Roorda 🟠

We were so happy to be able to hear Rhonda speak live, in-person with us earlier this afternoon -- and are also thrilled she will be featured in this fall's Monday Evening Speaker Series! Join us on Monday, October 19 at 8pm ET -- all are welcome!

ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION:
As a Black child adopted out of the New York foster care system as a toddler and raised by white evangelical parents, Rhonda Roorda had to learn how to walk in two different worlds. She often questioned “whether my skin was too dark” and if she “acted too white.” She recalls being haunted by feelings of shame and not being enough. Torn from the Root is her illuminating story of identity, belonging, and purpose and lays bare the deep pain she felt navigating life as a vulnerable Black girl and how she healed herself.

📍This program will take place virtually (via Zoom) on Monday, October 19 from 8pm-9pm ET. It is free to attend but will require advanced registration in order to receive the link. Sign up here: https://ow.ly/vgya50ZMGWv

👉All of our Monday Evening Speakers Series talks are posted to our YouTube channel after the fact, so you can always revisit (or watch for the first time!) these meaningful discussions. Learn more and access past talks here: https://ow.ly/6oVy50ZMGWt

ICYMI: watch an encore presentation of Betsie's Monday Evening Speaker Series talk "The Power of Belonging: 39 Years of Adoption Network Cleveland," now available on YouTube!

WATCH HERE: https://ow.ly/AVlQ50ZQ9wP

Grief doesn't just live in our thoughts — it lives in the body. 🌿

Adoption Network Cleveland invites adult adoptees to join coaches Whitney Dawn Pyles and JJ Rett for Embodying Grief, a 3-day, 9-hour virtual workshop exploring creative, body-based, trauma-informed practices for working through adoption-related grief.

Over the course of the workshop, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how grief shows up in the body — and a set of practices you can keep using long after the workshop ends. Plus, you'll walk away with a built-in support system: monthly virtual drop-ins with Whitney, JJ, and other participants from your cohort.

📅 Friday–Sunday, October 2–4, 2026
💻 Virtual on Zoom | 9 hours total
🔒 Adult adoptees only

Space is limited — save your spot today. Register: https://ow.ly/5QfH50ZEUa9

💙Membership Matters at Adoption Network Cleveland💙

Opting to become one of our Members annually is an easy way to show your support for the programs and services we provide at mostly free or very low cost to the unique community we serve.

And don't forget -- Membership has its PERKS:
⭐Borrowing privileges to our Resource Library of books and movies
⭐Knowing you are part of a community larger than yourself
⭐A voice in public policy issues affecting adoption and child welfare via our advocacy
⭐Membership/Benefits with a corporate partner, Century Federal Credit Union
⭐Priority registration on Family Social events with limited registration
⭐Subscription to our Hub newsletter

We also offer several different Membership options -- choose the one that works best for you! Learn more and get signed up (or renewed) here: https://ow.ly/s6iJ50Z0oTb

Reconnecting the Dots to Family and Self with Tiana Hawver

Join us on Monday, October 5 at 8pm ET -- all are welcome!

ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION: At four months old, Tiana was adopted by a white couple. It was 1971, and the couple wanted a child that would have been considered hard to place. At that time, that meant a healthy, Black infant. While reunification with birth family wasn’t something that Tiana had considered, in 2018 she received a phone call from a confidential intermediary telling her that her birth mother had petitioned the court to find her. That phone call started a journey towards reconnecting with family—birth parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and more. It also brought to the forefront the trauma and abandonment of being separated from family that are part of the experience for adoptees. Tiana shares her story of reconnecting not only to family, but also discovering who she truly is at her core.

This program will take place virtually (via Zoom) on Monday, October 19 from 8pm-9pm ET. It is free to attend but will require advanced registration in order to receive the link. Sign up here: https://ow.ly/29bm50ZOsSh

All of our Monday Evening Speakers Series talks are posted to our YouTube channel after the fact, so you can always revisit (or watch for the first time!) these meaningful discussions. Learn more and access past talks here: https://ow.ly/ZYxb50ZOsSe

Coming Up this Month on Saturday, September 26 - Get your tickets now, space is limited!

🎙️ Meet Rhonda Roorda — featured on Good Morning America, ABC News, CNN, and NBC's "This Is Us." 🌟

She's spent her career giving voice to transracial adoptees. Now she's sharing her OWN story in her debut memoir, "Torn from the Root."

Adoption Network Cleveland & Mac's Backs Books are thrilled to welcome award-winning author Rhonda Roorda to Cleveland! Don't miss Rhonda Roorda in Cleveland on Saturday, September 26 at 2 pm at Coventry Village Library! 💫

🎟️ Free Event!
👉 Register on Eventbrite: https://ow.ly/rCch50ZGGz4

It's THANK YOU THURSDAY! Join us in 👏👏👏 for our Corporate Partner Weston Hurd! We are so grateful for their partnership and support 🤩.

Interested in learning more about our Corporate Partners program? Connect with Sarah at [email protected] or visit https://ow.ly/WXUG50ZIswR

🌱 Every voice matters. Every story belongs.

No matter how adoption, foster care, or a DNA discovery has touched your life — there's a place for you in the circle.

Adoption Network Cleveland's General Discussion Meeting is a free, open-format virtual gathering where adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents, siblings, foster care alumni, kinship families, DNA discovery community members, and professionals come together to share perspectives, find understanding, and support one another.

We believe adoption is a complex, lifelong, and intergenerational journey — and that a unified voice is a strong one. Come as you are.

Facilitated by JJ & Rosemary

🗓 The first Thursday of every month - Next meeting is October 1
7:00 pm ET
✅ Free | Pre-registration required

📋 Register → https://ow.ly/CTN350ZJBs2

Did you know you can donate to Adoption Network Cleveland through your workplace charitable giving campaign?

Each year, many workplaces run charitable giving campaigns through an organization such as United Way Services or simply through their Human Resources department. You can designate Adoption Network Cleveland as your charity of choice for a one-time gift or payroll deduction to support our programs and services all year long.

Learn more here: https://ow.ly/RevQ50ZHt1W

On Monday, Betsie switched from her usual role as facilitator in our Monday Evening Speaker Series to being the speaker herself!

As we celebrate our founding day anniversary, we invite you to watch an encore presentation of Betsie's talk "The Power of Belonging: 39 Years of Adoption Network Cleveland," now available on YouTube!

WATCH HERE: https://ow.ly/BvuU50ZQj4Q